Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by BNP Paribas

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $125.00 target price on the game software company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.24% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Thursday. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.05.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Electronic Arts stock opened at $116.56 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $152.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $30.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.80. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total value of $713,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 42,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,080,308.20. This represents a 10.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.03, for a total value of $395,075.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,969,926.99. This represents a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,986,385. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EA. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 983.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 257,902 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $36,993,000 after buying an additional 234,098 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 64,170 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $9,205,000 after buying an additional 11,058 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $12,078,000 after buying an additional 4,702 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,597,000. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new position in Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $950,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.